To:

Members, Board of Education

From:

Terry B. Grier, Ed.D.

Date:

November 2 , 2007

RE:

Approval of Middle School Character Education Contract

In July 2006, the U.S. Department of Education/Partnerships in Character Education Programs (PCEP) awarded nearly $1.5 million to GCS and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in a four-year grant to study the impact of character education on the social, ethical and academic achievement of middle school students.  Dr. Philip Vincent, Character Education consultant and author, is the director for the project.  Six GCS middle schools were randomly selected by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in this study.  The middle schools are Ferndale, Jamestown, Kernodle, Northeast, Northwest and Welborn.  This is the second year of the grant.

The 2007-08 contract for renewal reflects the budget for contractual services rendered by Dr. Vincent which were components of the grant.  This amount reflects the same as last year with no increase.  The 2007-08 contractual services budget is:

• Project Director- $55,000
• Local Travel- $1,000
• National Travel- $1,000
• Supplies and Materials- $5,000
• Character Education Consultants- $10,000
• Web site Design- $5,000
• Evaluation and Research Budget- $45,000
• Focus Group Specialist/Evaluation Consultant- $5,000
• Statistical Management Research Assistant- $25,000
• Co-Evaluator Travel- $6,000
• Experimental/Control Group Data Collection Team Travel- $5,799
• Supplies & Office Costs for Evaluation-$10,000

TOTAL:  $173,799

As a part of the contract, the contractual agreement between Dr. Philip Vincent, Character Develop Group and GCS states that the responsibilities and duties of the project director as outlined in the grant.

RECOMMENDATION:  The administration recommends that the board approve the contract with Dr. Philip Vincent of the Character Development Group to continue services as Project Director of the Middle School Character Education Grant for the second year for a total amount of $173,799.

Attachment #1 - Budget
Attachment #2 - Contractual Agreement